Geeky spouse and I signed up for a 3 month program at the Y to finally get some of this extra weight off. It’s a great program with tons of extra classes for beginners and a food plan. The food plan is the Fat Smash Diet. While I put no faith in diets, this seems to be a program where you eat gluten-free vegan for phase 1. No pasta, avocados, white potatoes, sugar, caffeine, or wine. Phase one is 9 days, so it should be pretty easy.

The sugar will be the hardest part for me, but you get all the fruit you want. So I have splurged and gone off my buying local seasonal produce to keep my sweet fix. I have cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, and grapes. That should keep me busy enough to actually become less dependent on sugar. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Breakfast of the week: Oatmeal with unsweetened vanilla almond milk with banana, apple, or blueberries

Sweet of the week: slow cooker fruit (Similar to the drunken apples but without all the sugar and alcohol)

I have started a new veggie slow cooker blog that’s called Healthy Slow Cooking. I will be redoing all my slow cooker recipes from here and will be adding tons of new ones as well. Check it out if you get a chance.

Why all the seitan this week? Well, I made a big recipe of it from Post Punk Kitchen. I’m freezing some for later, but want to test it out in a few things. I used veggie broth instead of the soy sauce to cut down on the salt. I’ll let you know later if that was a good move or not. Never heard of it? It’s made from the gluten in wheat to produce a more “meaty” textured protein substitute. Check out more info here at Gourmet Sleuth or About.com.

Breakfast of the week: Kashi Heart to Heart cereal instead with unsweetened vanilla almond milk with banana or dried apricots

I love Halloween! It’s my favorite holiday. I always have a fancy Gothic dinner party – you can read more about this year’s here. On the dinnerware blog there’s also tons about decorating and drink ideas for Halloween.